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Lottie and Micha'el both stared at Tsuna - how could she compare herself to that monster? Vendeth, Micha'el thought, shaking his head subtly. But it was Lottie he looked at her friend with eyes that glistened as though her heart had broken. For a brief moment her heart felt like it might collapse into itself. To even think that Tsuna could really believe she had something in common with Vendeth. The moment was quick. Just as quickly as it started it was over and Lottie let out a silent sigh of relief. She nodded. Tsuna was right, she had to be too tired to think straight. When Tsuna requested Lottie remain with her for the night, she accepted without even thinking. "Of course" she took Tsuna's hand and squeezed.

She would keep her friends comfortable and happy - no matter what.

_________________________

Micha'el hovering in the corner of his childhood home's living room. He felt like a bug on the wall watching down as his mother exchanged pleasantries with someone across the room. Why am I here? Micha'el thought, his gaze switching to the point of view of a bug on the floor. Was he a bug? He looked down, expecting to find a set of 6 legs but instead found nothing, just a halo of light around him. Was he intangible? He could see his mother again. Across from her was someone familiar with dark hair. A shadow writhed from their chest. He felt a pang of dread within him - but then it settled and calmed. The darkness was just a mass of black hair - a girl that he knew. Malika Roze.

His mother was alone now. Preparing tea, as she always does, looking out the bay window at the grass outside. A knock sounded from the door. Malika, again, was greeted inside. Again? Micha'el watched her sit down, then he looked to the closed door. Again? Again? Why is she here again? He stared through the door, it faded away and in the distance the writhing shadow again. It smiled, vanishing from his view. Now he was behind his mother, watching Malika who smiled warmly as the two laughed, but his mother looked confused. Malika looked confused.

Malika was gone. Micha'el felt a rush of pain shoot through his ethereal form. He had legs now, legs with which he could run. He was running towards his home, a halo of white light shattering around it as he stepped into the doorway. Everything outside was now fiery red. Now he left his home, he spoke with Malika's voice, saying goodbye to his mother. He smiled, feeling his cheeks grin from ear to ear as he vanished in the distance.

Blinding light. An explosion. His mother's scream.

Micha'el shot up right in his bed, sweat dropping down his cheek. He clutched his chest, feeling the panic in his body. His shirt was soaked through, just as his hair was which was now sticking to the sides of his face. For a brief moment he forgot about the dream, but something whispered to him. Words? He wasn't sure, it was more of a feeling. He glanced at the girls, Tsuna and Lottie, who were still sleeping on the other side of the large room. He was thankful for the spacious accommodation and the alcoves in which the beds were sat - it meant he had not woken them. He suddenly remembered the sight of a halo shattering around his childhood home. The wards! he realised, searching deep within himself to feel something. He was searching for the reassuring thrum of energy that was the protective spell he placed around his home, around his mother. It was gone.

Micha'el fel his lungs empty, he clasped his hands over his mouth to keep himself quiet, then quickly grabbed his pillow to muffle his breathing. I must go, now! he thought, summoning up the Aria as quietly as possible to flip a page and cast the spell that would give him a one way ticket to the anchor spell he placed on his mother.

Nothing.

Cold consumed Micha'el's body. Everything around him suddenly became a blur as he began to witness the world through a glass window. As the panic took over he was suddenly aware of how trapped he was inside his own head. His limbs felt numb as he dropped the pillow and silently grimaced, leaning against the bed in front of him to keep himself up. He moved. First his feet, then his arms, he latched onto the wall quietly as he made his way to the doorway and went out into the corridor. Blinding blue mage light lit up the corridor in the dead of night like LEDs. It seemingly knocked him to his senses as his thoughts began to process. If the anchor spell did not respond - it means she is- his mother... is dead. What had happened? Why did the protective wards not wake him sooner? Why did it merely give him a shoddy, broken record of a dream?! How long ago did this happen? Why wasn't he there, why couldn't he save her, what did he do wrong, did the wards fail, who did this? It was obvious - the red glow of the sky - the writhing shadow. "Zoltan".

Micha'el wailed like a banshee. He cried out until his voice broke and his lungs gave out. He felt like his chest might collapse under the weight of his own emotions. Everything he worried about, everything he was fighting against, it all suddenly came true. White light gathered in his palms and quickly turned into cyan stardust. It consumed him entirely and swallowed him up - he vanished completely and with him so did his scream. The corridor fell deathly silent. All that was left was the Aria.

Micha'el fell against a wall littered with books and scrolls. He could see a blue glow around the corner, coming from the source of magic he coveted. He pulled himself up, like a husk, he willed his body to move like it was a corpse. He didn't care anymore. All inside was empty. There was a muffled sound of an alarm before he stepped around the corner to look upon the Starwell, surrounded by a dozen magi all caring for the enchantment above it in the dead of night. The entire spell had turned red and all the cloaked men and women turned to face him. He knew now, from what Alexis had told him, that the alarm would alert her personally. He also suspected that she would them summon Aoi's team to protect it, what with Adelia and her squadron perforing a special operation in Bloodholme. He would cut through all the defences before... well. Perhaps not before they would arrive, but he would win before they could stop him. He hoped he would be quick enough before Tsuna or Lottie could arrive... he knew they would join him... and he didn't want to risk them doing the wrong thing just for him. He didn't want them to see him like this, soaked through with sweat and tears, eyes devoid of feeling, body moving as though he barely had the energy to fight through the amassing dread within him. It all helped him clear the picture in his head. It made space for the determination to go through with his decision. The Magi were likely shouting at him now, asking how he got there, commanding he be locked up. But he didn't care. He would fight his way to the centre of the Starwell no matter what. What else did he have to lose now? He'll take the power for himself - he'll tear the star from the depths of the well and with it he will answer the call to destroy all demons - starting with the worst demon of them all.

Zoltan Maues.